With No More Talks Scheduled, NHL Officials’ Strike Imminent

The NHL, which faces a midnight strike by on-ice officials, has no further discussions planned with Don Meehan, who represents the NHL Officials Assn., despite Meehan’s effort to arrange talks Saturday. Meehan said he had called Jeff Pash, the NHL’s general counsel, “in hopes we can have some dialogue. I think both sides realize it’s in everybody’s best interest to come to an agreement.” He said the league’s refusal to talk “is not constructive. People don’t react well to that kind of coercion.”

Brian Burke, NHL senior vice president, said the league will not consider a counterproposal by officials or alter its final offer, which would raise the base salaries of referees and linesmen by 65% over four years. “We’re not embarrassed or defensive about our offer,” Burke said. “We’ve got games scheduled on Monday and they will be played. We’ll go with this for as long as it takes.”